Ecclestone: F1 Does Not Need a Budget Cap
As the topic of cost reduction has been discussed between teams for several months now, Bernie Ecclestone believes that implementing a capped budget in Formula 1 is not necessary.
Bernie Ecclestone believes that Formula 1 teams do not need a budget cap and that they should instead learn to spend less, as he told journalist Christian Sylt for *The Independent*.
« I don’t think they need a budget cap. The people who don’t need a budget cap will do well, » said the head of FOM.
The establishment of a budget capped at around 150 million euros was discussed for 2015, but this measure was ultimately blocked in April by the Strategic Group, composed of Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA, and six major teams on the grid. This had angered some teams – Marussia, Caterham, Sauber, and Force India – which then decided to write to the FIA to express their dissatisfaction.
There are four teams that are not in the Strategic Group, and why not? Because the teams that are in it have committed to racing in Formula 1 until 2020 and have put in place reasonable guarantees if they do not. The teams that are not part of it do not have the performance no matter what, even if they could put more money. The only teams that are in it are there because we do everything in Formula 1 based on performance and how long they have been there.
Jean Todt, President of the FIA, met with the 11 F1 teams as well as Bernie Ecclestone in Spain but the only proposals made seem to have been cost-cutting measures involving a ban on heated covers, the return of active suspension, and more standardized parts, which the Frenchman had called a “joke”.
